Apparatus for coiling wire



Jan. 25, 1955 Q R, wHlTTUM 2,700,514

4 APPARATUS FOR COILVING WIRE Filed OCT'. 2, 1953 States,

r4@ ClaimsA Theinventionrelates'generally to wiieproces's- I ing. equipmentv andmore--particulalyto' an electrieallyoprated deviceY for 'coiling' and removing wire from La--eontinuous Wire processing unit.

A major problem in high speed wire. processing operations, as for example, high speed continuous wire drawing, has been the removal of the wire from the wire processing machinery without interrupting the operation of the processing machinery. Non-rotating blocks o r dead blocks on which finished wire is laid -by flyer umts have been devised for this purpose, however, thos'e used prior to my invention have not been completely satisfactory due to the fact that the prior art dead blocks included external mechanical braking means to hold the block steady while wire was removed. The external braking means was so cumbersome that it interfered with the removal of the Wire from the block necessitating a slowing down of the wire processing operations.

I propose to eliminate the foregoing difficulty by p roviding a dead block having internal electrical braking means which does away with the necessity for external braking structure for holding the block against rotation while wire is being removed. u

It is, accordingly, an object of my invention to provide apparatus for receiving filament, such as wire and the like, emerging from a processing unit which includes an electrically braked dead bloc on whichthe filament may be -coiled and subsequently removed without interference with the operation of the processing unit.

This and other objects will become more apparent after referring to the following specification land attached drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section; and

Figure 2 is an electrical wiring diagram of the circuit connecting the motion transmitting and receiving means of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 2 designates generally Ian exemplary form of my invention installed in conjunction with a continuous wire drawing machine A having a finishing block B.

Reference numeral 4 indicates a shaft rotatably support-ed in a pair of spaced bearings 6 and 6' mounted on vertical supports 8. The shaft 4 is provided with an axial passage 10 for receiving a strand of finished wire W from the yfinishing block of the drawing machine. A frame block 12 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 4 adjacent the end 14 thereof remote from its entry end. The end 14 of the shaft 4 projects coaxially into the frame block 12. The shaft 4 is provided with a recess or lateral opening 16 communicating with the axial passage 10 intermediate the bearing 6 Aand the frame block 12. A rotatable sheave wheel 18 is carried in the recess 1'6 and is mounted for movement with the shaft 4. A support `arm 20 is keyed or otherwise fixedly attached to and extends substantially normal to the shaft 4 intermediate the recess 16 an-d the frame block 12. The free end of arm 20 is anguliarly disposed toward the frame block and carries a rotatable sheave 22.

A drive shaft 24, which is connected with the main power shaft of the wire drawing machine A, projects from the drawing ma-chine and is operatively connected with the shaft 4 by sprockets 26 and chain 28.

An electrical motion transmitting device is suitably connected with and driven by .the drive shaft 24. The motion transmitter 30 may be of any suitable type, but is shown here as the well known alternating current Selsyn type connected with a source of alternating currentL-l jalittle-Zi` vThe'fsoiiree ofcu'rrent for the transmitter is the same as that which supplies then'wire drawing machine; thereforefthe' transmitter is energized when thev machine isfs'tarted. A Selsyn receiver 32-`is mounted oirthe'en'd 14 ofthe shaft 4`within the frame block, 1-2 and includes a housing 34 ywhich ismountedvfor rotationwith .theshaft 4;'a'n armature 36-whi`cl1 isfmonted Iwithin the housing 34 forrotation'relative'thereto in thefdirection opposite to the direction of rotation of the shaft 4, and an'var'm'ature shaft-38 whichrotates with the armature 36 andprojects outwardly ofj the housing 34. Thepro- 30 and receiver 3 2 are connected by means of a cableil-Zgmade up'fof'conductor. wires 42:1,"42b, 42e, 42d kand 42e, which exteiids yfro-m't-herr receiver 32 -along the axial passage of the shaft 4 to a commutator 44 which is Dotata-bly mounted on the shaft 4 and is suitably connected with the transmitter 30 and the source of current L-1 and L-2. The Selsyn transmitter and receiver are so constructed that rotation of the transmitter produces a synchronous rotating magnetic field in the winding of the receiver and the rotating field causes the armature 36 and the shaft 38 to rotate at the same speed as the transmitter but in the opposite direction relative to the housing I34 and shaft 4. In other words, the function of the Selsyn set is to generate a signal at the transmitter corresponding to the speed of the shaft 24. This signal is sent to the receiver through commutator 44 and cable 42 and causes the armature 36 and armature shaft 38 to rotate, with respect to the receiver housing 34, at the same speed as drive shaft 24, shaft 4, transmitter 30 and receiver housing 34, but in the opposite direction thereto. Therefore, armature shaft 38 does not rotate with respect to the fioor and since frame block 12 is connected with the armature shaft g8 gy flange 40, the block does not rotate but remains In operation, the wire W is drawn in the usual manner on the conventional wire drawing machine A, several turns are taken on the finishing block B, and then the wire is pulled through the axial passage 10 in shaft 4 and out of the recess 16. The wire is threaded around the sheave wheels 18 and 22. As described above, sheave wheel 22 is mounted on the arm 20 which is keyed to and rotatable with the shaft 4 so that as shaft 4 and arm 20 rotate, the wire is wound on the frame block 12 which is supported by but does not turn with shaft 4 as explained above. After the desired amount of wire has, been accumulated on the bl-ock 12, the .stran-d is cut and the bundle of wire is stripped from the block and transferred to the hook C of a lift hoist D for removal to a storage area. Meanwhile, the drawing machine A continues to operate and more wire is wound on the block 12.

IIf desired, shaft 4 and Selsyn transmitter 30 may be driven by a separate motor through a constant torque coupling. This arrangement would be particularly advantageous where it is desired to wind the -fner sizes of wire on the block under constant tension.

While I have shown the apparatus of my invention used for coiling Iand removing wire from the single block of a wire drawing machine, it will be noted that it may be also used on other Wire processing equipment, such as continuous heat treating and galvanizing unts. Where the wire processing unit includes a number of blocks all operating continuously at a uniform low speed, it is necessary to provide only one Selsyn transmitter which may be connected to selectively drive a receiver in each block.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown Yand described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

-I claim:

1. Apparatus for coiling filament comprising a rotatable shaft having an axial opening for the passage of filament therein, power means connected with said shaft for driving the same, means for feeding said filament to one end of said shaft, a frame block rotatably mounted on said shaft adjacent the end thereof remote from its entry end, the end of said shaft remote from said entry end projecting coaxially into said frame block, means mounted on said shaft and rotatable `ltherewith for winding said l iilament on said frame block, an electrical motion trans.- mitting device connected to be driven at the same speed as said shaft, an electrical motion receiver, said receiver including a housing fixedly mounted on the end of said shaft within saidffraine block andan armature mounted in said housing for relative rotation therewith, an armature shaft 'projecting outwardly of said housing, the projecting end of said armature shaft being iixedly connected with said frame block, and means connecting said electrical motion transmitting device with said receiver whereby said armature is rotated at the same speed as said rst mentioned shaft but in the opposite direction thereto.

2. Apparatus for coiling filament as defined by claim l including a commutator mounted on said first mentioned shaft intermediate said electrical motion transmitting device and said receiver, said electrical motion transmitting device and said receiver being connected through said commutator.

3. Apparatus for coiling filament as defined by claim 1 characterized by said rst mentioned sha-ft having a recess in the wall thereof intermediate its length communicating with said axial opening, said winding means including .a filament guide member mounted in said recess, a support arm lixedly mounted on said first mentioned shaft and eX- tending substantially normal thereto along the greatest portion of its length intermediate said recess and said frame block, the free end of said arm being angularly disposed toward said frame block, and guide means disposed on the free end of -said arm for guiding filament from said recess onto said frame block.

4.I Apparatus for coiling filament as dened by claim 3 characterized by said electrical motion transmitting device being a Selsyn transmitter and said electrical motion receiver being a Selsyn receiver.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gibbs June 20, 1916 Bruestle Oct. 1, 1940 Bell Feb. 24, 1953 

